rockin'robin
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New food stamp policies enacted by officials in a number of states have resulted in many people losing their benefits, The New York Times reported.
About a million childless, able-bodied recipients between 18 and 49 years of age have been told they no longer qualify for food stamps, according to the nonpartisan Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.
The Times noted that an improving economy is prompting states to adjust their eligibility guidelines. In some jurisdictions, officials are discontinuing waivers approved during the recession that allowed healthy, unemployed people to get benefits for longer periods.
Republican Gov. Paul LePage of Maine reimposed a three-month limit (during each three-year period) on food stamps for “ABAWDs,” able-bodied adults without minor dependents, unless they work 20 hours per week, take job-training classes and perform volunteer services six hours a week.
“You’ve got to incentivize employment, create goals and create time limits on these welfare programs,” Mary Mayhew, Maine’s commissioner of health and human services, told the Times. The number of ABAWDs getting food stamps in the state has dropped about 80 percent as a result of the rule changes.
Maine and seven other states that qualified for the waivers this year declined to take advantage of the federal funding, according to the Times.
http://www.newsiosity.com/articles/...-denying-food-stamps-healthy-childless-adults
About a million childless, able-bodied recipients between 18 and 49 years of age have been told they no longer qualify for food stamps, according to the nonpartisan Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.
The Times noted that an improving economy is prompting states to adjust their eligibility guidelines. In some jurisdictions, officials are discontinuing waivers approved during the recession that allowed healthy, unemployed people to get benefits for longer periods.
Republican Gov. Paul LePage of Maine reimposed a three-month limit (during each three-year period) on food stamps for “ABAWDs,” able-bodied adults without minor dependents, unless they work 20 hours per week, take job-training classes and perform volunteer services six hours a week.
“You’ve got to incentivize employment, create goals and create time limits on these welfare programs,” Mary Mayhew, Maine’s commissioner of health and human services, told the Times. The number of ABAWDs getting food stamps in the state has dropped about 80 percent as a result of the rule changes.
Maine and seven other states that qualified for the waivers this year declined to take advantage of the federal funding, according to the Times.
http://www.newsiosity.com/articles/...-denying-food-stamps-healthy-childless-adults